Ajmer Sharif's head supports ban on beef, cow slaughter

According to Indian Express, The spiritual head of the Ajmer Sharif shrine in India, Dargah Diwan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, on Monday came out in support of banning beef consumption, saying that a uniform ban imposed by the Centre on consumption and sale of all bovine species was the only means to end the growing “unpleasantness” between two communities.

On the eve of the closing ceremony of the 805th annual Urs at the Ajmer shrine, Abedin said he and his family would renounce beef and appealed to Muslims to do the same. Addressing heads of shrines and religious leaders, Abedin said, “The issue concerning bovines has harmed the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb… To re-establish this legacy of goodwill, Muslims should take an initiative and end the root cause of the issue by renouncing consumption of any kind of beef.”

“To unify its people, the government should ban slaughter and sale of all bovine species.” Appreciating the recent Gujarat law that entails life imprisonment for cow slaughter, Abedin said the Centre should implement a similar ban for all bovine species which should entail a punishment of life imprisonment. “The cow should also be declared our national animal as it is a symbol of devotion for Hindus,” he said.